Canh Duong murals were created by a group of young people whose desire was to give a chance for local people to develop tourism and create artistic values at the same time through their brainchild project, “Future Mural”. Before doing most of the paintings in Canh Duong, we looked at materials from the traditional house in Canh Duong village along with photos from some photographers and collectors as well, then designed them in 3D paintings, said Nguyen Viet Dung, the painter and architect who is in charge of the group.

Canh Duong is an ancient village with 400 years of history. The village has twice been honored by the State with the title Hero of the Armed Forces against the French and the American respectively. In composing his song “My hometown Quang Binh”, musician Hoang Van called Canh Duong "a homeland facing the waves".

After getting advice from the Department of Culture and Sports, the group has covered more than 500m2 with nearly 20 paintings so far, using funds from many sources,  especially from the Quang Binh Department of Tourism. The paintings run from the communal house where the ancestors are worshipped to the craft village of the Canh Duong commune, Quang Trach, Quang Binh. 

Colorful murals in a small alley in Canh Duong village. Photo: Thong Hai/VNP The mural of a well in a Vietnamese village. Photo: Thong Hai/VNP A mural depicts the fishing life of Canh Duong villagers. Photo: Thong Hai/VNP Whale worshiping ritual is well preserved in Canh Duong village. In the photo: The mural of Whale God in the village. Photo: Thong Hai/VNP A mural around the window of a house in Canh Duong village. Photo: Thong Hai/VNP The murals on the walls create the beauty of the ancient sea village. Photo: Thong Hai/VNP Thanks to the murals, Canh Duong village seems to be expanded, poetic and colorful. Photo: Thong Hai/VNP There are murals depicting lives of villagers. Photo: Thong Hai/VNP A mural depicts the culture of a sea village in Canh Duong. Photo: Thong Hai/VNP A mural depicts the battle scene of Canh Duong villagers during the national resistance war against the French invaders. Photo: Thong Hai/VNP

The residents are proud of the lively murals. Along the 100m road of the fishing village appear 20 3D paintings. All the happenings during wartime and peacetime, the environment, and daily life were carefully painted.

The murals are painted directly on the walls or fences. With great care, the artists have depicted stories from the founding and development of the village to its historical traditions or the beauty of the revolutionary heroism in the resistance war of Canh Duong villagers. There are "Canh Duong - Steel fortress", "The guerrillas with raised guns" and many more.

Canh Duong still retains many typical architectural, cultural, and religious features of a central coastal village like the hundred-year-old coral fences, the ancestral house where people worship the two gigantic whale skeletons, and a unique whale cemetery.

Along with those topics there are murals depicting the natural scenery and fishing life of villagers. This theme includes paintings such as the fish market in the early morning, boats that are steady in the middle of the sea and fishermen casting their nets at dawn.

There are also murals describing the marine cultural traditions such as the boat racing festival on the Loan river and a fishing festival. There are murals telling unique humanitarian stories about the relationship between villagers in Canh Duong with nature, which nurtures them their whole life. There are paintings about fish, shrimp, coral, snails, moss, and even fairy tales related to the sea.

There are old houses with coral stone, moss-covered walls which suddenly become strangely attractive when visitors pay their visit to Canh Duong.